Dwyane Wade, Ryan Smith, and the Perception of the Utah Jazz

Wade and Smith hope to leverage their new Jazz association to advance social issues in Utah and elsewhere. (via Utah Jazz Twitter)

When news broke two weeks ago of Dwyane Wade joining the Utah Jazz ownership group, it was  simultaneously one of the coolest and most unexpected Woj-bombs dropped on Jazzland. The definition of “cool” is always going to be subjective, but run a nationwide poll of the “coolest” NBA players, and I suspect Wade always ranks high. He’s a Miami legend, a three-time champion, a Heatle, a fashion icon, and married to well-known actress Gabrielle Union, among many other things. He had one a top-selling jersey every year he played. Even in his final season, his jersey was the 11th most popular among NBA fans.

Ask the same polling group to rank states in the U.S. by “coolness” and I’m not sure Utah ranks as favorably. To be clear, I’m a long-time Utah resident and I love my state. I think it’s one of the best places to live, work, and enjoy. But the reputation and the reality do not always align. More on this later.

There are three areas were Wade’s reputation may serve Utah’s reputation:

1. Recruiting

2. Respect and the perception of Utah

3. Social issues

Before we dive in, it’s worth noting that these seem to be an extension of Ryan Smith’s goals as the club’s new majority owner. While Wade’s involvement was initially surprising, seeing how his values and strengths align with Smith’s makes sense of the news.

Recruiting

Perhaps the most intriguing question about Dwyane Wade is: will he help recruit free agents? Well, the immediate and technical answer is “no”. At least in a public and hands-on fashion.

As with fellow Turner analysts Shaquille O'Neal (Kings) and Grant Hill (Hawks) in their ownership roles, Wade is subject to the same league rules that preclude him from participating in Utah's basketball operations — including the recruitment of free agents — if he stays in TV.

— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) April 18, 2021

As long as he remains an analyst for TNT, he can’t be involved in front office decisions. This has been the case for other notable former players who became minority owners, like Grant Hill and Shaquille O’Neale. Whether Hill or Shaq’s presence alone has helped draw free agents to Atlanta or Sacramento is unclear. And the landscape of tampering and recruitment is already murky. It’s impossible to know how much Wade can really help. But at face value, it feels like playing for Dwyane Wade could only be a benefitting factor in free agents’ decisions.

We’ll see if Wade remains a broadcaster. He happens to be really good at it. I’d watch him and Candace Parker, partners on the Tuesday version of TNT’s Inside the NBA, talk Xs and Os all day. And his respect for the current players is refreshing. Regardless, the Jazz may not need his help recruiting star free agents for a while anyway. His presence may have been most useful two seasons ago, when the Jazz had a cap space for a max free agent, but traded for Mike Conley and signed Bojan Bogdanovic instead.

The current core is now locked up for multiple years, so barring a trade it will be quite a while before the Jazz can court a max free agent again. This doesn’t mean the Jazz can’t or won’t explore options to add another star to play with Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert — but it would require a big shakeup. More likely, the Jazz will be looking to add helpful role players using salary cap exceptions.

For a better picture, the following players are under contract after this year:

• Mitchell and Gobert: 4–5 seasons
• Jordan Clarkson, Royce O’Neale, and Udoka Azuibuke: 3 seasons
• Bogdanovic and Derrick Favors: 2 seasons
• Joe Ingles and Elijah Hughes: 1 season

Then you have Conley, Georges Niang and Juwan Morgan (restricted) who will be free agents this offseason. Miye Oni and Matt Thomas have non-guaranteed contracts for next season.

So without trading bigger contracts, the Jazz can’t have max cap space until 2024, and even that would require careful planning that is difficult to do while simultaneously contending for a championship. All of that is to say: Wade’s role is probably not going to be luring a star to Utah, at least not for a while.

Wade can still help recruit useful players. If the Jazz continue to contend (and especially if they re-sign Conley) they’ll likely be working with exceptions and veteran minimum contracts. We just saw the Clippers bring in Serge Ibaka and Nic Batum with those tools last offseason. Ibaka cited a text from Clipper star Kawhi Leonard as a clinching factor in his decision-making process, and Batum reportedly considered joining Utah. There’s an opportunity for Utah to find more value in those situations — Wade could be a significant factor in decisions that often come down to thin margins.

The NBA has entered an era where disgruntled or aging stars have say in where they are traded to. Perhaps Wade’s influence can add Utah to those players’ short lists. He has a large pool of former teammates still in the league, widespread respect, and his fair share of recruiting experience in the past.

Respect and the perception of Utah

Allow me to chase a tangent before we circle back to Wade.

Being a sports fan is a strange thing. We pour time, thought, and emotional energy into a team in exchange for some sort of intangible equity. As Jazz fans, we refer to the team as “us,” including ourselves in the collective experience of the players we follow. When the Jazz are frustrated, we’re frustrated. When the Jazz are ecstatic, we’re ecstatic. When the Jazz are disrespected, we’re disrespected.

It’s an odd concept, especially to those that aren’t as obsessed with sports. But assuming a shared identity is not unique to sports. It happens in work, faith, race, hobbies, sexual orientation, politics, the list goes on. It’s human nature to gather in tribes, solidified around a shared topic.

Sports are unique, in that the pride is often geographically grounded. While there are Jazz fans across the globe, the Jazz are technically the Utah Jazz, and so for fans that live in Utah, the Jazz become an avatar of our state to the rest of the world. We’re taught this representational pride in our earliest school days, as we flock around a mascot that represents our neighborhood, as uncoordinated middle school basketball teams are pitted against teams across town. Perhaps the ultimate expression of this idea is what makes the Olympics so compelling: we feel like our country’s athletes represent us to the world. We want to appear successful and share joy when our fellow countrywomen-and-men succeed.

So it makes sense that when Shaquille O’Neal, or LeBron James, or the collection of people we call “the media” slight the Jazz, that fans take that on a more personal level. Many that live in Utah take pride in the place that they’ve chosen to build lives (me included). We’ve put time, thought, and emotional energy into our homes, families, and community. Sure, it has flaws — just as every other tribe we belong to does. But even so, that shared bridge transfers ill words between our sports and geographical ties.

I realize this may sound crazy. And at the end of the day, basketball is just a game. But in many way sports are irrational. Forgive me for waxing philosophical, but “games” are an important part of life. Ultimately they are designed to provide fun, but they also create shared experiences, and can be a microcosm of life. You can experience joy, sorrow, anger, friendship, pride, disappointment, and excitement in unique ways through sports. And yes, disrespect, too.

It’s easy to say, “Who cares what LeBron or Shaq think?” The sentiment behind the question is solid: LeBron and Shaq do not live in Utah. They do not play for the Jazz. At least one of them does not follow the Jazz closely. And there’s the thought that there will always be detractors — it’s wise to block them out for mental wellbeing.

But: Shaq’s voice holds weight — even if the majority found his barb at Donovan in bad taste. LeBron’s voice holds even more weight. Where LeBron leads, most NBA players follow. So when LeBron essentially says he picked the Utah players last because they play in Utah — that has ramifications, whether you care if he said it or not. (And as an aside, if LeBron had picked Utah’s players early and praised their play most fans would not be saying they don’t care what LeBron says.)

After several controversial calls in a close loss to the Sixers, both Mitchell and Gobert expressed frustration about the lack of respect from the referees and league. They felt that the team is not getting the same calls as players that complain more or play for bigger markets. To what extent this is true is one thing. That Utah’s stars feel a lack of respect for playing in Utah is another.

So, what does this have to do with Dwyane Wade? Well, he chose Utah. Donovan and Rudy chose to stay in Utah. Favors and Clarkson chose to return to Utah. Conley has stated that he loves it here and wants to return. Players increasingly choosing Utah is a big deal. It’s even bigger when someone of Wade’s calibre, with no previous connection to Utah, chose to become part of the Jazz franchise.

As ESPN broadcaster and former Jazzman Richard Jefferson said: “To have one of the legends of the game say I want to be part of this ownership in Utah, that is a compliment to the fans. They have amazing fans and a great culture there in Utah.”

Social Issues

Let’s tackle a thorny issue: Utah has a negative reputation around the league when it comes to race relations. Now, it’s true that every state has issues with racism. It’s difficult to parse how proportionately big the problem is in Utah compared to other states. Are racist incidents in Utah unfairly and disproportionately represented? I don’t know. But racist incidents have happened, and Utah does have a negative reputation among circles in the NBA.

How the reputation and reality align is up for debate. I have my own opinions, as I’m sure many of our readers do as well.

What’s clear is that high-profile members of the Jazz organization want to change both the reputation and the reality of racism and other social issues in Utah. Smith has said the organization will be “unapologetically anti-racist.” They’ve pledged 4-year scholarships to youth in disadvantaged communities. Mitchell has not been shy about social issues, including speaking with Vice President Kamala Harris. Conley recently won an Oscar for producing a film that tackles social issues and the experience of people of color in America.

Wade — one of the few black NBA owners — is an extension of that priority, summed up well by David Locke:

The addition to @DwyaneWade to the @utahjazz ownership group is the continuation of Ryan Smith mission for the Utah Jazz and the state of Utah.

That mission is to change the perception (and reality) of the Utah Jazz and the State of Utah.

Step by step and this is a big one.

— David Locke (@DLocke09) April 16, 2021

The Ryan Smith era of the Jazz is moving full-steam ahead, and I look forward to seeing Wade be a part of it.